A week without Wi-Fi feels like the longest ever week for Hugh Lynn

They say a week is a long time in politics, but I’ll tell you, a week without Wi-Fi feels even longer.

Here in Loughglynn we have fibre broadband with promised download speeds of up to 100 Mbps. Our service provider is Eir, and their exchange is right behind our house. Initially, we enjoyed fantastic speeds.

We’ve had fibre in the village for about 10 years, and it was excellent at first. However, over time, the speeds have reduced, and now we’re getting less than 20 Mbps. While this is better than what some people are getting, it’s frustrating when you’re used to fantastic speeds and then see them slow right down.

I called Eir on Wednesday, May 22nd, to discuss the speed issues and the price we were paying for a service we weren’t receiving. The call taker listened to my query, provided good service, and reviewed the price we were paying. He suggested I could get a better rate, saving us over €200 per year. That was great. He also mentioned there might be an issue with the line and arranged for it to be checked, which was wonderful. Finally, he said they were supplying a more modern Wi-Fi box to customers that would be better than our current one. He promised to send out the new box within two days. All seemed good, and I learned that prices can change and often increase when contracts expire. It’s always a good idea to check what you’re being charged and compare it to current offers.

I started to think that this much-maligned company was certainly better than the likes of Joe Duffy on Liveline would have one believe. Obviously, they have sorted out the problems, and quality customer service is something Eir is striving to achieve.

Roll on to Friday, May 24th, and the DPD courier arrived with the box from Eir. He handed me a new box and requested that I return the one we had. I did as asked and handed over our old box. First mistake! I opened the new box, looked at the instructions (something I don’t normally do), and plugged in the phone line and power. First problem: no lights. No power seemed to be coming to the box. I checked the socket—it was switched on. I checked the plug—it was working, as there was a green light on it. I looked at the on/off switch, pushed it in, looked again—nothing. Waited 20 seconds, pushed it again—still nothing. No lights on the front. What now?

I rang the helpline, furious. I had Wi-Fi until the courier called, and now I had none. I explained what was wrong. I was amazed at how nice the representative was; he tried to help, but everything he suggested, I had already done. I demanded he recall the courier who had my box, but that wasn’t possible, which I understood, but I had to ask. I was getting crosser but checked myself a few times to avoid losing my head. That would solve nothing.

I was assured that he would immediately order a replacement and I would have it tomorrow. I reminded the representative that tomorrow was Saturday and asked if the courier would really be with me. If not, he told me definitely on Monday. Monday came and sadly, no sign of the box. I decided to give them a chance, wait till Tuesday, and see what happened. No joy on Tuesday. Roll on Wednesday, and I rang again. I spoke to a lovely girl who tried to problem solve the box. I explained that we had done this already, but I would try again. No joy. I told her that I was promised a replacement box and had received nothing yet. She was going to check the progress and ring me back. Wednesday came and went, and like many others, she didn’t ring me back.

Thursday, I rang again and this time spoke to a different man. He looked at his screen, listened to my problem, and tried to problem solve. I told him everything we had done to date and what I had been promised. He told me to wait a moment as he spoke to his supervisor. He came back to me and explained that the product had been ordered by the first person I had spoken to the previous week, but the order had not been released (a button hadn’t been hit). He was authorizing the sending of the box and said I should have it the following day. I laughed and said I’d believe it when I see it.

Friday morning, I got a text from the courier company telling me that they had a parcel for me from Eir and would deliver between 12:42 and 13:42.

It’s no wonder that Conor Pope in our sister paper, The Irish Times, is so busy dealing with customer experiences with companies in Ireland. There is no doubt that poor service makes us cross. Being strung along and promised things that don’t materialize just makes us crosser. Bad experiences are shared and this can damage the image of the brand. On the other hand, good service makes us happy and increases our sense of loyalty to the brand or company.

The man I spoke to on Thursday saved the day, and I wish I had spoken to him originally. Sadly, we all have bad experiences. Sometimes it’s our fault, and sometimes it really is the other party that is responsible.

Eir is improving, but there’s still room for improvement.

I have my Wi-Fi and the speed test just now shows a download speed of 94mbs!